Orchard heater cover



Sept. 5, 1933. R. E. UPRIGHT ET AL ORCHARD HEATER COVER Filed March 9, 1952 M J7/1LZZE ZZUPNE 5.

NQEATZTUPS- H-E U P1. 7? J- H- ELLMUI'. B51- Patented Sept. 5,. 1933 I UNITED STATES ORCHARD HEATER COVER Ralph E. Upright and James H. Gillmor, San Fernando, Calif.

Application March 9, 1932. Serial No. 597,737

2 Claims. (01. 12659.5)

Our invention relates to an orchard heater using solid fuel.

It is an object of our invention to provide an orchard heater of the solid fuel type simple and inexpensive of construction and requiring a minimum of attention in its operation.

Another object is to provide an orchard heater having means for draught conditions so that after the fuel has been burning for, a predetermined period anda live bed of coal with a corresponding increase of heat has been attained the supply of air for combustion may be reduced so that less heat will be given off of the orchard heater. It is the aim to generate heat quickly to raise the temperature of the air in the orchard to a point that would not injure the fruit and the trees. When the danger point is passed less heat is required tomaintain the desired temperature conditions. A great number of heaters are necessary to effectively prevent frost in orchards and they must be serviced in the minimum amount of time, which service constitutes a diflicult problem. Our heaters are so designed that by an instantaneous adjustment the combustion is slowed down. i The heater has a capacity to furnish heat for one night, say about eight hours; Very often immediately before sunrise a decided drop in temperature takes place and it is necessary to increase the combustion in the last period. This can be'done in our heater by an instants manipulation so as to maintain the proper temperature conditionsin the orchard. I

In particular, our heater is provided with a lid,

1 which'is, in the first period of the heaters operation, spaced vertically above the open top of the fuel container and provides a draught opening for rapid combustion. Means associated with the lid are provided whereby at an instahtsmanipw 0 lation the lid may be closed down upon the open top of the fuel container when it is desired to decrease materially the rate of combustion to the temperature conditions in the orchard.

With the above and other objects in View, which will appear as the description proceeds, our invention consists in the construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing which forms a part of this specification we have illustrated a preferred embodiment of our invention, and in which i I Fig. 1 is a vertical central section of our orchard heater showing the position of the lid at the --beginning of the operation.

Fig. 2 is a similar view after the orchard heater instantly controlling the,

has been in operation for some time and the lid has been closed down on the top of the fuel container.

'Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1. v

Fig. 4 is a vertical section of the top of the orchard heater taken on the line 44- of Fig. 1. Referring to the drawing, 1 indicates a tubular metal casing, preferably cylindrical in form, having a horizontal flange 2 at the bottom which 5 supports the heater on the ground. Spaced from the bottom the casing is provided with an annular groove 3 whichmay be made by a rolling operation for the reception of any suitable grate 4. The space between the grate 4 and the ground constitutes an ash pit chamber 5. A series of spaced holes '6 below the grate 4 are provided in the casing l admitting air to the ash pit cham- D61 5. v j I Immediately above thegrate 4 the casing 1 is provided with a number of primary auxiliaryair openings 7. These openings 7 are relatively small and spaced fairly close together. Approxi- .mately midway in-the casing l is a series of in the beginning of the operation, but later, when thelid is closed down upon the casing serve aswaste gas outlet openingaas will be hereinafter explained.

I I i A lid 10 adapted to form a closurefor the casing 1 is-provided with a handle 11 suitably, 0

secured thereto and placed adjacent to the lid supporting means 12. Ihe lid supporting means 12 is made of a metal bar which is L-shaped in form and fastened to the lid by means of rivets 13 which at the same time secure the handle 11 thereto. The downwardly extending portion 14 of the bar 12 is provided with a downwardly struck out tongue 15 so that the lid may be held in spaced relation vertically above the top of the casing 1 by hooking the tongue 15 over the top rim of casing 1 so that the tongue 15 will be ,on

the outside of the vertical section 14 and the bar 12 on the inside of the casing. In order to hold the lid-'10 securely'in place we may provide a tongue 16 integral with the casing land struck out inwardly therefrom between which and the main body of'the casing thelower end of the bar 14 may be disposed.

Operation.--Solid fuel such as petroleum coke briquettes, egg size, is placed upon the grate 4;

the average quantity for eight hours operation is about eighteen pounds of such fuel; then a kindling material for starting the briquettes, such as about a pound of paraflined peach pits,

is placed on top of the briquettes and is ignited by any suitable means. The lid is then placed in position with the tongue engaging the top rim of casing 1, as shown in Fig. 1, so that the lid 10 will be spaced vertically above the open 10 top of the container of the casing, thus provid- 15 openings '7 adjacent the grate 4 will pass through the fire of briquettes. Additional air is supplied through the secondary openings and upper openings 9. This copious supply of air will start a vigorous combustion and will consume about three pounds of briquettes during the first hour.

It is desirable to provide a large supply of hot gases for the orchard in the beginning of the operation. In about an hours time as the briquettes are partially consumed and settle on the grate 4 and the fuel is turned into a bed of red hot briquettes on the grate it is desirable to moderate the rate of combustion. This, to some extent, is done automatically by the deposit of ashes 18 (see Fig. 2) which will more or less clog "been sufiiciently raised above the danger point that it is only necessary to maintain the same, which may be done at a greatly reduced rate of combustion of the fuel'in the orchard heater. The operator now will pass from one orchard heater to the other in the orchard and lift the and one-half pounds per hour and will gradually decrease to one and one and one-half pounds per hour. The upper openings 9 now serve as exits for the gases of combustion. It will be understood that conditions of atmospherewill somewhat modify the rate of combustion, depending upon whether the air is still or breezy.

It" should be noted that very little smoke is 1 produced in our improved orchard heater. This is probably due to additional air supply through openings 8 and 9 above the fuel.

It is sometimes desirable just before sunrise to' accelerate the rate of combustion for the reason that about this time a decided drop in temperature takes place. This can easily be done by lifting the lid and spacing it from the top of the casing in the position shown in Fig. 1, by causing the tongue 15 to engage the top rim of the casmg.

Various changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of our invention as claimed.

We claim:

1. An orchard heater comprising a tubular casing open at the top, a lid for the top of the casing, a bar rigidly secured to the lid and extending downwardly therefrom, atongue on the bar projecting horizontally and outwardly a short distance therefrom and then extending downwardly parallel and in spaced relation to the said bar so that the under side of the horizontal portion rests on the top of the casing and the downwardly extending portion of the tongue and the bar coact with the outer and inner surfaces respectively of the casing to hold the lid in spaced relationship therewith, the downwardly extending portion of the bar and the tongue depending therefrom being positioned within that portion of the lid that coacts with the top of the casing when the lid is in the closed position to thereby allow the lid to function as a closure.

2. An orchard heaterfor burning solid fuel comprising a tubular casing open at the top, a grate in the lower end of the casing, air supply means in the casing above the grate, a lid for the top of the casing, a handle therefor, a bar rigidly secured. to the lid and extending downwardly therefrom, a tongue on said bar projecting horizontally and outwardly a short distance from the bar andthen extending downwardly parallel and in spaced relation to the bar so that the under side of the horizontal portion rests on the top of the casing and the downwardly extending portion of the tongue. and the bar coact with the outer and inner surfaces respectively of the casing to hold the lid in spaced relationship therewith, the bar and the tongue being positioned within that portion of the lid that coacts with the top 1 of the casing when the lid is in the closed position to thereby allow the lid to function as a closure, and means on the inner side of the casing coacting with the tongue to hold the lid against displacement when the latter functions as a closure.

JAMES H. GILLMOR. RALPH E. UPRIGHT. 

